UNIDO ITPO Italy

Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Italy

The Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO Italy), based in Rome, was created in 1987 on the basis of an agreement between UNIDO and the Italian Government. It has the mission of supporting industrial cooperation with companies in developing countries, supplying an array of services along the path of investment projects, from the scouting of industrial partners, to the supply of technical assistance to promising industrial projects.
 
UNIDO ITPO Italy makes use of a network of Investment Promotion Units (IPU) located in several Mediterranean countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt). The IPUs are meant to promote and strengthen economic and industrial relationships between the Southern Mediterranean and Europe, contributing to the establishment of both institutional cooperation and industrial and commercial partnerships among companies intending to operate in the Mediterranean area.

UNIDO ITPO Italy is also involved in industrial cooperation projects in many other countries, among them Argentina, China, Ecuador, India, Mongolia, Mexico, Serbia, and Uruguay.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

UNIDO ITPO Italy, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coordinates support programmes for institutions that assist SMEs or investors, with the aim of enhancing the promotion and facilitation of investment in developing countries.

Training

• Delegate Programme: hosting of representatives from developing countries (selected among officials of local counterparts) at UNIDO ITPO Italy to conduct promotional activities regarding their home country
• Training courses on SME development
• Study tours: organization of specific missions on technical subjects/contents (i.e. visits to industrial clusters, to export consortia, to research institutions, to leading firms etc...)

Technical Assistance

• Drafting of technical assistance programmes for the development of specific industrial sectors
• Assistance to strengthening of Industrial and Handicraft Associations and Chambers of Commerce, and other similar institutions

Country Promotion

• Enhance cooperation between local governments and other institutions in order to promote investments and technology transfer
• Promote the country in general through seminars, press releases, and information to firms

Institutional Networking

• Networking with institutions (Investment Promotion Agencies, Industrial and Handicraft Associations, and Chambers of Commerce, etc…) supporting SMEs both at national and international levels

SERVICES TO FIRMS

UNIDO ITPO Italy, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provides assistance to Italian SMEs to encourage them to invest in industry in developing countries and countries in transition, either on their own or in joint venture with local entrepreneurs.

Information on investment climate in developing countries

• Provision of macroeconomic data, industrial sector development indicators, and investment laws and incentives in recipient countries

Identification and promotion of   industrial projects

• Systematic scouting of partners for economic and industrial agreements (joint ventures)
• Organization of delegations of entrepreneurs
• Assistance in the participation of selected fairs
• Organization of B2B meetings

Assistance to negotiations

• Data and information collection related to potential industrial partnerships
• Identification of financial instruments for specific projects

Training

• Economic and financial aspects of industrial investments, based on UNIDO’s hand-on experience with the various facets of the investment process
• Trade capacity-building and other training programmes, including technology, management, market access, quality and environmental concerns, and help in developing the domestic entrepreneurial base